Thursday news quiz: station to station, and doing the locomotive after Ted Lasso
Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?
Welcome to the Thursday news quiz, where curiosity is in full bloom thanks to our illustration by Anaïs Mims. Even the most carefully arranged facts can contain a hint of uncertainty, so beware the rogue question marks popping up among the petals of knowledge. Fifteen questions on topical news, pop culture and general knowledge await. There are no prizes, but we always enjoy hearing how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!
The Thursday news quiz, No 247
- 1.Who won best actress (not pictured – this is Jessica Gunning) in a comedy at the Baftas?
Katherine Parkinson for Here We GoLucy Punch for AmandalandDiane Morgan for MandyLiz Truss for her YouTube channelReveal - 2.Great British Railways is to open its first brand new station. Where?
Gosport WestOxford NorthCambridge SouthDurham EastReveal - 3.Who is suing Samsung for $15m over the use of her image on their TV boxes (not pictured)?
Dua LipaKaty PerryTaylor SwiftKate BushReveal - 4.Apple Corps has acquired the building where the Beatles played their final rooftop gig, and will be opening it as a tourist attraction. What is the address?
20 Manchester Square3 Savile Row57 Wimpole Street30-50 Feral Hogs YardReveal - 5.Content creator (are we sure about this? – Ed) Swhileyy (really? – Ed) has started a social media trend for “speedrunning” what?
Assembling Ikea bookcasesOrdering ‘secret menu’ items from Burger KingChurch of Scientology buildingsMovies, by playing them at 30x speedReveal - 6.Here’s Melvyn Bragg, he loves a flag. All of the countries below have a yellow star on their flag. But which of them places that star in the top left corner, on a blue background?
MauritaniaCameroonBurkina FasoDemocratic Republic of the CongoReveal - 7.What proportion of Labour MPs would need to back a replacement candidate to trigger a leadership contest against Keir Starmer?
15% (61 MPs)20% (81 MPs)25% (101 MPs)33% (133 MPs)Reveal - 8.This week’s guest feline lives at the Cinema Museum in Kennington, but refused to give its name when asked. It wants to know which Ted Lasso actor has signed a professional football contract with El Paso Locomotive?
Moe Jeudy-LamourCristo FernándezTosin ColeJimmy AkingbolaReveal - 9.Farther or nearer with Geordie Alan Shearer! This week we imagine the England soccer legend wants to know, if he leaves his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne, which – as the crow flies and according to freemaptools.com – is farther or nearer – Darwin, Australia, or Santiago, Chile?
Santiago is nearer to Newcastle upon Tyne than DarwinDarwin is nearer to Newcastle upon Tyne than SantiagoReveal - 10.A video showing an illegal horse race (not pictured, this long-faced individual is just chilling), with spectators firing pistols into the air and brandishing Kalashnikov rifles, has prompted a police investigation where?
CorsicaSardiniaSicilySyldaviaReveal - 11.Which of these sets of men’s football teams have recently been confirmed to have won their respective leagues for the 2025-26 season (not pictured, that is Leyton Orient who very much did not win anything this season)?
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Napoli, SportingBorussia Dortmund, Barcelona, Juventus, SportingBorussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Roma, PortoBayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter, PortoReveal - 12.Jimmy Fallon is to produce a gameshow based on Wordle. Who has announced they are presenting it?
Gayle KingSavannah GuthrieHoda KotbRonald MaelReveal - 13.The Thursday quiz fondly remembers Keith Chegwin, so here is Cheggers plays population! According to the 2026 CIA World Factbook, what is the population of Vietnam?
15 million45 million75 million105 millionReveal - 14.On this day with Brian May! And his badger! 14 May is the anniversary of the last ‘witchcraft trial’ being held in the US. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen’s legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – in which year …
1678177818781978Reveal - 15.And finally … in a transparent attempt to feature in every silly news quiz in the land this week, a lorry (though not the one pictured) hilariously got stuck in the hole it had been sent to fix. Where?
Waltham Cross, HertfordshireNorthwold, NorfolkWrestlingworth, BedfordshireWalton, SomersetReveal
If you really do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers – and can show your working and are absolutely 100% positive you aren’t attempting to factcheck a joke – you can complain about it in the comments below. Why not watch Tiny Raisin by Suki Waterhouse instead?